Suppose you’re in college, and your scholarship requires you to work at the university library.
You finish college in four years, and after graduation, you start sending out resumés.
Half the people you help in the library say “Hey, thanks for helping me with the periodicals, good luck in your endeavors.”
The other half say “The library is going to be so understaffed next semester. It’s just not going to be the same without you. You’ll be the top library aide… Don’t you want to be the man? You can work for the new librarian, she’ll need the help. You can always enter the workforce next year. The economy sucks anyway.”
What would you do? If I were in that position, I would tell that second group of people they were certifiably insane: I didn’t go to college so I could satisfy your whims, I came here so I could get that paper and feed my family.
And that is why I almost got into a comment battle on Shawn Taggart’s Facebook profile with some guy old enough to be my dad. See, I’m grateful for guys like Shawn and Doneal Mack, who accept friend requests from fans. I am not naive enough to think it means I’m actually friends with those guys, but I like learning a little more about them as people. Ever since Shawn declared for the NBA draft, though, people have been harassing him on Facebook, looking for cryptic messages in his status updates, to the point that I think they may have driven him away.
Look, Tiger fans, I know next year is going to be rough. But there are enough 24-year-old college graduates without jobs out there. If Shawn Taggart can make money doing what he wants to do – what he went to school for, essentially – who’s to say he shouldn’t do that? The impact he would have on the court is undeniable. But is coming back for another season, to play for a third coach and enter the draft at 25, in Shawn’s best interest? I don’t think any fan can say so with conviction. I also don’t think any fan, given the choice between a well-paying job (even if it’s in Romania) and a year’s unpaid internship would choose the latter.
Very well put. I agree. At least he stayed long enough to get his degree. I’m proud of his hard work and hope everything works out for him. He seems like a pretty decent guy.
follow shawn taggart on twitter.
twitter.com/vasavior